Dresden Regional Transportation
By Train, Bus, or Steamboat to Meißen & Saxon Switzerland in Germany
Discount passes for trains, buses, and steamboats allow for cheap day trips from Dresden in Germany to the Saxon Switzerland National Park and to see porcelain in Meißen.
Dresden, the capital of the German federal state of Saxony, has an excellent public transportation system, which extends to popular sights in the region such as Meißen, Moritzburg, Saxon Switzerland, and the Königstein fortress. Cheap discount passes are available for unlimited train, tram, and bus travel.
Discount Passes for Dresden Sights and Transportation
Several discount passes are available to reduce the cost of transportation and / or sightseeing in the Dresden region. All easily pay for themselves and allows direct entrance to transportation and sights without having to queue for further tickets.
- Standard day or week tickets allowing for unlimited use of trains, trams, and buses can be bought from ticket vending machines at bus and tram stops or ticket counters at larger stations. Prices depend on the zones selected.
- The Dresden City Card is valid for two days and allows for unlimited use of public transportation and admission to most major museums and sights within Dresden. It can be bought from the tourist office or more easily from many hotels in Dresden.
- The Dresden Regio Card has the same advantages as the Dresden City Card but is valid for three days and extends coverage to most sights in the Oberelbe region around Dresden including Meißen, Moritzburg, and the Saxon Switzerland region.
By S-Bahn Train to Meißen and Saxon Switzerland
Meißen and Saxon Switzerland (Sächsische Schweiz) are both in the Elbe Valley but in opposite directions from Dresden. Both are popular day-trips from Dresden and easiest reached by S-Bahn train.
Meißen is mostly visited for its porcelain factory, beautiful old town, and impressive cathedral and Albrechtsburg castle. Interesting nature is the main draw of the Saxon Switzerland region although Festung Königstein – the largest fortress in Germany – is also a very popular sight.
S-Bahn train S1 runs along the Elbe River to connect Meißen and Schöna mostly every half hour. Traveling times in minutes from Dresden Hauptbahnhof to major stops (and popular sights) are:
- Meißen-Triebischtal – 45 (Meissen Porcelain Factory)
- Meißen – 40
- Radebeul-Ost – 20 (steam train to Moritzburg)
- Dresden-Neustadt – 10
- Dresden-Hauptbahnhof – 0
- Pirna – 24
- Stadt Wehlen – 32 (bus to the Bastei)
- Kurort Rathen – 35 (hiking to the Bastei)
- Königstein – 41
- Bad Schandau – 47
- Schöna – 57
Ferries, sometimes included on day passes, are available at stops such as Stadt Wehlen and Kurort Rathen where the stations are on the opposite bank of the Elbe River from the tourist sights (and indeed the towns themselves).
By Steamboat from Dresden to Meißen and Saxon Switzerland
Although the S-Bahn train is the fastest and cheapest way to travel in the Dresden region, boats on the Elbe also provide transportation to the best-known sights. (The Dresden Regio Card gives some discounts on most cruises.)
The Sächsische Dampfschiffahrt (Saxon Steamboats) operates a fleet of mostly steam paddleboats on the Elbe in the Dresden region. Boats depart from April to October from the Brühlsche Terasse in Dresden with usually a single daily cruise downstream to Meißen and up to ten boats going upstream towards the Saxon Switzerland area.
Although return trips on the boats are heavily discounted, it is best to take the boat downstream and the train upstream when time is limited. Boats take from Dresden to Meißen two hours (reverse direction three hours), Pirna three hours (two hours), Kurort Rathen 4h30 (2h30), and Königstein 5h30 (three hours).
- Dresden with its magnificent Baroque old town, excellent museums, and variety of hotels and restaurants is a very popular tourist destination and a great base from where to explore further sights in Saxony. Popular day-trip destinations from Dresden include Schloss Moritzburg Castle, Saxon Switzerland, and Meißen.
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